Food
for the Hungry - Annual C2C Report 2013
Lakartinya,
Kenya
1. Greeting from Community – Officer- Mr. Wario
1. Greeting from Community – Officer- Mr. Wario
I thank the almighty God for granting me this
opportunity to send a word of “hello!” to Roosevelt Community Church. I’m well
together with my family and the community in which I’m working. Our community
received good rain the whole of the year 2013. The school is growing in terms
of infrastructure and increased enrolment. I hope that you are fine too and I
wish you more blessings from God.
2.
Prayer Requests
and Answered Prayers
a.
The
Lakartinya community prayed for peace when there were fears of raids from other
communities in the course of 2013. Cattle raids are unfortunate cultural
practices that lead to death and destruction. We thank God that He granted peace,
and that the fear is gone. People are now moving on about their daily affairs
with increased freedom, secure in the knowledge that God has granted them
safety. When the Workteam visited Lakartinya in 2013, one of the training
sessions for Morans (young men or warriors) was on how to live peacefully with
other people since all were created in the image of God. Since then none of the
Morans from Lakartinya have been heard to participate in raids. Therefore the
community also thanks God for the changes evident in their young people and
pray that the Holy Spirit will continue ministering to the young people’s
hearts to always choose the way of peace.
b.
As
the school enrollment increased, there was an urgent need for latrines. The community
prayed for resources to address this need. God answered these prayers, because
by the end of year 2013, two latrines had been constructed through funding by a
development partner. The latrine is expected to last for a long time because it
was made in a way to allow for emptying after a certain period of time.
c.
Access
to water is an ongoing request in the community, in 2013, God answered this prayer
by providing a water dam near the community that is expected to harvest sufficient
rain water to last the community for up to four months after rains.
d.
The
community continues to pray for the AIC church chairman, who was mauled by a hyena
and lost one jaw and crushing of his nasal system among other injuries. They thank
God for preserving his life and enabling him to continue to serve his family
and the community despite the limitations of the injuries. He is a real
testimony of God’s amazing grace in living against all odds. They continue to
pray that ways will be opened for him to recover full use of his jaw and nasal
system.
3.
Impact of US
Church
The church building that is still under construction
with funding from your church continues to inspire members to contribute toward
its completion. The church members have a goal to complete the building no
matter how many years it takes. They are continually motivated by the love
shown by Roosevelt Church. The community is now looking forward to having 6
complete classrooms. Roosevelt Church supported construction of three of them
while the government of Kenya supported construction of the others. Children
always have a classroom to learn in as they proceed to higher grades. There are
many children from the community who have been supported to access secondary
education though payment of school fees. Some have come back to the community
to inspire and mentor other children to work hard in school no matter the challenges
so that in future they will be in a position to contribute back into the community.
Through child sponsorship, FH has equipped the teachers to have regular life
skills training sessions for the children as well as Bible study. In addition,
through home visits parents are encouraged and motivated to support their
children in school and cater for their health needs. As a result there was
increased regular attendance in school. It has been noted that the more
educated people there are in a community, the better the well-being of all the
people in that community. Therefore by encouraging and supporting the children
to remain in school and supporting others to proceed to secondary education; there
is investment in the future well-being of Lakartinya community.
4.
Church in the
Community
The local Church in the community increasingly took
up the role of teaching the word of God to the children at Lakartinya School in
Bible study sessions and in the pastoral program of instruction [PPI] where the
school curriculum sets time every week for religious instruction of children. In
December 2013, the local church conducted youth camp where over 70 young people
attended. They were sensitized on such topics as holistic living, how to engage
in community development and ways of handling conflict.
5.
Politics,
Government, and Associations
There were general elections in Kenya in March 2013
which ushered in a new form of governing. Since then there have been slight
changes in what is previously known as local government and now called county
government. The rules of engagement are still not clear but there are bound to
be changes in future. However, the government did resource and thereby complete
the stalled projects of the previous government. It took some lobbying to get
the government to complete the stalled classroom in Lakartinya school but it
also opened up the door for the community leaders to create networks with the
County government. This is a great opportunity that the community is looking
forward to utilize for their development. The community was supported to
contact other partners who funded construction of latrines. This way the
community is learning to seek and make beneficial partnerships with development
partners.
6.
Changes in the
Community – include at least 1 spiritual/worldview change
and 1 physical change
Cattle raiding from neighboring communities was a
practice that was widely practiced among members of the Lakartinya community.
The young men would plan and undertake a raid, justifying themselves that it
was the fault of the other community for not having better protection. They would
also use this action to prove their ‘man-hood’. But since FH began walking with
the community, there has been a shift in way of thinking so that now the
community state that there is no value in undertaking cattle raids. The young
men are also changing their mind sets on this matter and during feedback meetings
with them, they have begun indentifying other ways of earning honor and respect
among each other. One way that they now practice their ‘man-hood’ is supporting
the Kenya Wild life service in monitoring movement of elephants. The young men
are good trackers and they are using this skill to support conservation of
elephants.
7.
Staff Changes
There have been no changes in staff.
8.
Update on
Critical Issues from the Community Transformation Plan –update on at least 2
of
the 4 sectors of CFCT: livelihoods, health/nutrition, education, disaster risk
reduction.
a.
The
critical issue of poor health seeking behavior is slowly being addressed. More
and more parents are taking their children for treatment in the nearest
dispensary. Parents have been equipped with knowledge and skills of providing
good nutrition to their children especially during the rainy season when cattle
provide a lot of milk. There are a few parents who have adopted a practice of
first providing sufficient milk for their families and selling the surplus in
the market.
There
is still more work to be done to improve the community’s practices on good sanitation
and hygiene. The challenge of difficult access to water in the dry season hampers
good hygiene practices. However, it is expected that with the improved access to
water from the newly dug earth dam, it will make it easier for the community members
to adopt good hygiene and sanitation practices.
b.
Education
is becoming very important to each and every one. It is one of the most expensive
sectors where those who live below the poverty level cannot afford to send their
children to secondary school and colleges. In Lakartinya, parents have
increasingly indicated their value for education by sending more and more
children to school. From a community that had no school, to one with over 300
children enrolled, the positive change is evident. The school leaders have also
constantly lobbied for additional teachers so that in by the end of 2013, two
additional teachers were posted to the school. Meanwhile parents are very
supportive of all initiatives that concern the education of their children; for
instance they provided unskilled labor when there were delays in accessing
government funds to complete one classroom construction in 2013.
9.
Personal Example
of Positive Change in the Community
Aaron is a hard working young person Lakartinya
community. He had dropped out of college due to lack of fees. Since access to
electricity is limited to few individuals, Aaron heard that there were ways of
making use of the sun to generate solar power. He followed up on how he could
do so with an eye of creating a business opportunity.
Through FH support, he accessed the information he
needed, sold a few livestock to purchase batteries and solar panels. He then
begun business as a barber and later diversified to other services that require
power such as photo copy and developing of photographs. Within one year he had
made sufficient funds to employ someone to run the business as he went back to
college to complete his course. He is now able to pay the college tuition fees.
Aaron has now become a positive role model for both
the children and adults in Lakartinya community. They have seen evidence that
GOD can enable one to overcome challenges in ways that are unique yet
profitable. This is a theme that is discussed in many of the life skills
training and Bible study sessions.
10. Activities in the Community – List 3 FH activities
that have occurred in the
community in the past 6 months, ASIDE FROM team
visits:
a.
Life
skill training for children and youth- The participants were engaged in lively discussions
on how they can improve their lifestyles by adopting godly mindset and behavior
b.
Construction
of classrooms- Parents were motivated to support completion of one classroom by
providing casual labor and they begun clearing ground for another to ensure
that the vehicles transporting construction materials would be able to move easily.
c.
Home
visit to equip parents with simple skills to improve their children’s hygiene
and sanitation.
Dear
Roosevelt Church,
Thank
you so very much for your dedication and commitment to the amazing work you
have accomplished this past year in the community of Lakartinya. We here at FH
are very proud and honored to work with your church in Kenya, Africa. I hope that
this reports helps provide great information back to you to show the progress that
has been made as a result of the great work you have poured into this wonderful
community. Thanks again so much! Many blessings to you all.
In
His service,
Ryan
Church
Engagement Representative for Food for the Hungry
Report Submitted
by Zipporah from Food for the Hungry Kenya
